ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Finance
Passing Out Ceremony of the 70th  Batch of IRS  Officers
The professional training of the 70th Batch of IRS  officers culminated with the Passing out Ceremony here today at NACIN, Faridabad. The 70th Batch consists of 60 officers, including 15 lady officers. These young officers will be at the helm of administering GST, India’s biggest tax reform since independence.
A message from Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman was read out at the passing out parade ceremony. Recorded video messages from Union Minister of State for Finance, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur and the Finance Secretary, Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, as inspiration and guidance for the Officer Trainees were also played during the ceremony.
The ceremony was presided over by the Chairman CBIC, Shri. M. Ajit Kumar. The Chairman received the Guard of Honour and inspected the parade.
In his valedictory address, Shri M. Ajit Kumar congratulated the 70th Batch for successfully completing their training. He urged the officers to work with vigour and enthusiasm and to contribute towards the development of infrastructure.
Earlier, Shri Himanshu Gupta, Pr. DG, NACIN, delivered the welcome address to the gathering. He underlined the significance of integrity and work ethics in ones’ professional conduct.
During the Passing out Ceremony, five Officer Trainees who have excelled in different areas of training, were awarded medals for their exceptional achievements. Ms. Singh Namrata AC received the Finance Minister’s Gold Medal for the best overall performance.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 178 Cr
More than 21 lakh Vaccine Doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.62%
6,561 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload currently stands at 77,152
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 0.99%
With the administration of more than 21 lakh Doses  vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 178 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
This has been achieved through 2,05,41,983 sessions. The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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1,04,01,757
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2nd Dose
|
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99,70,032
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Precaution Dose
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41,99,279
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FLWs
|
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1st Dose
|
|
1,84,09,861
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2nd Dose
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1,74,48,537
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Precaution Dose
|
|
62,90,304
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|
Age Group 15-18 years
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|
1st Dose
|
|
5,50,25,490
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|
2nd Dose
|
|
2,87,35,449
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|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
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1st Dose
|
|
55,20,71,254
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|
2nd Dose
|
|
44,61,31,357
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|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
20,23,15,853
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
18,05,83,661
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
|
|
12,64,47,292
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2nd Dose
|
|
11,24,68,351
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Precaution Dose
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|
97,64,745
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Precaution Dose
|
|
2,02,54,328
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Total
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1,78,02,63,222
14,947 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,23,53,620.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.62%.
6,561 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
India’s Active Caseload is presently at 77,152. Active cases constitute 0.18% of the country's total Positive Cases.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of 8,82,953 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 77 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 0.99% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 0.74%.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Uzbekistan and India agree to increase cooperation in the field of Agriculture
Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Mr. Khodjayev and Union Agriculture Minister Shri Tomar hold mutually beneficial talks
A fruitful discussion took place between the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Mr. Jamshid Khodjayev, and the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, in New Delhi today. During the meeting it was agreed to take forward the ongoing cooperation in the Agricultural sector between the two countries.
Greeting Mr. Khodjayev on being appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Shri Tomar said that Mr. Khodjayev’s previous experience of being the country’s Agriculture Minister would be of great help in his new role. Shri Tomar said that the two countries have very good diplomatic and trade relations. While India's diplomatic ties with Uzbekistan complete 30 years, for India it is the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Shri Tomar expressed happiness that special attention has been paid to mutual cooperation in the Agriculture sector. He informed that India has decided to provide market access for Grapes, Plums and Sweet Cherries from Uzbekistan, notification for which will be published soon, while India has received approval from the Uzbek side for export of Mangoes, Banana and Soyabean Oilcakes, for which Shri Tomar thanked Mr. Khodjayev. Shri Tomar urged the Uzbek side to expedite the permission for import of Pomegranate, Potato, Papaya and Wheat.
Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Agriculture sector is developing rapidly and work is being done with great enthusiasm on various aspects in the interest of farmers. Due to the farmer-friendly policies of the government, scientists and farmers, agricultural production has increased significantly in the country, besides agricultural education and research in India is also in a very mature state. He said that Prime Minister Shri Modi wants the whole world to get the benefits of the development of agriculture in India.
Earlier, Mr. Khodjayev, congratulating India on the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, said that India's experience in agriculture is very good, which Uzbekistan would like to know about including support to farmers. “Like India, we want to change the course of agriculture in Uzbekistan, for which we want to learn from India,” he said. In this regard, he requested the Indian Agricultural Research Institutes to pass on the benefits of research and development to Uzbekistan. Appreciating the growing trend of digitization in Indian agriculture, Mr. Khodjayev called for similar digitization in Uzbekistan, along with Indian companies. He also praised India's Public Distribution System, Minimum Support Price  system, etc. and spoke about learning from India’s experience.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
‘The Eclipse and After’ - a unique film festival marks women-centric online series by Films Division
The thematically curated festival series of women-centric documentary films will be kick-started by Films Division with The Eclipse and After, a festival of films on women by women being screened online from 28 to 30 May 2021.
The package of ten films made by women film makers tells stories of women coming out from the shadows of inequality and injustice and also inspiring stories of strong-willed women who dared to break conventions to lead a life of self worth and accomplishment.
The Eclipse and After include With the River Flowing  Silent Voices , Born Behind Bars , Viji Amma , Bramhavadini - Mahila Paurohitya , Phulbasan Bai , Make up The Loss , My Baby Not Mine , Chasing Tails  and The Day I Became a Women .
The films will be streamed free on https://filmsdivision.org/ @ “Documentary of the Week” and on https://www.youtube.com/user/FilmsDivision between 28 - 30 May 2021.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers receives dividend of Rs 9.55 crore for FY 2019-20 and interim dividend of Rs 6.93 crore for FY 2020-21 from PDIL
Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri D. V.Sadananda Gowda, today received dividend of Rs 9.55 crore for FY 2019-20 and interim dividend of Rs 6.93 crore for FY 2020-21 from Shri D S Sudhakar Ramaiah, Director Finance, Projects & Development India Ltd  in the presence of Shri R K Chaturvedi, Secretary , Smt Aparna Sharma, Joint Secretary and senior officials of PDIL.
PDIL has achieved historic highest ever financial performance in 2019-20 i.e., revenue from operations of Rs 133.01 crore, total income of Rs 142.16 crore, profit before tax of Rs 45.86 crore and profit after tax of Rs 31.83 crore.
PDIL is presently providing PMC services for 3 major projects of HURL, Talcher project and executing various other Work Orders in Oil and Gas sectors.
PDIL is a Mini Ratna, Category-1 and is a premier design engineering and consultancy organization which provides services viz pre-project activities, project management consultancy, design & engineering and quality assurance.
PIB Headquarters
PIB’S BULLETIN ON COVID-19
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- Over 172 cr vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
- India's Active caseload currently stands at 6,97,802
- Active cases stand at 1.64%
- Recovery Rate currently at 97.17%
- 1,50,407 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 4,13,31,158
- 58,077 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
- Daily positivity rate 
- Weekly Positivity Rate 
- 74.78 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 14,91,678 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
#Unite2FightCorona #IndiaFightsCorona
PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Dr Jitendra Singh to inaugurate 2-day Regional Conference on “Replication of Good Governance Practices in UTs of J&K and Ladakh” in Jammu tomorrow
Delegates from 19 States and 4 UTs to participate in the Conference
‘Sushasan Sankalp: Jammu Ghoshana’ Resolution to be adopted in the Valedictory Session
The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances , Government of India is organizing a Regional Conference on the theme: “Replication of Good Governance Practices in Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh” in collaboration with the Government of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on November 15-16, 2019 at Jammu.
Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State  of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region , Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions; Atomic Energy & Space, along with Shri G. C. Murmu, Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir will inaugurate the 2-day event in Jammu tomorrow. Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Administrator, J&K and Dr. C. Chandramouli Secretary DoPT & DARPG will also address the Inaugural Session.
Shri Arun Kumar Mehta, Financial Commissioner Finance Department, J&K will chair the Pre-inaugural Session on the topic "Public Policy and Governance". In the post lunch session, presentations will be made on ‘Digital Governance’, ‘Citizen centric Governance’ and ‘Aspirational Districts’. The states of Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and J&K will share their experiences of Grievance Redressal. On Day 2, Presentations will be made on ‘Select Initiatives’ and ‘Capacity building & Personnel Administration’. The ‘Sushasan Sankalp: Jammu Ghoshana’ Resolution will be adopted in the Valedictory Session.
The main objective of the Conference is to bring national and state level organizations on the same platform to share experiences in Digital Governance, Citizen Centric Governance and Capacity Building and Personnel Administration etc.
Delegates from 19 States and 4 UnionTerritories will participate in the Conference. The Department has organized 31 Regional Conferences till date. This Conference is an effort to create a common platform to share experiences in the formulation and implementation of best practices in citizen centric governance, improved public service delivery through e-Governance, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
210.58 cr Total Vaccine doses  have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
27,17,979 doses administered in last 24 hours
India's Active caseload currently stands at 96,442
Active cases stand at 0.22%
Recovery Rate currently at 98.59%
10,677 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to
4,37,44,301
10,649 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours
Daily positivity rate 
Weekly Positivity Rate 
88.35 cr Total Tests conducted so far; 4,07,096 tests conducted in the last 24 hours
Ministry of Defence
Minister of National Defence of Republic of Korea to visit India from March 25-27, 2021
Minister of National Defence of Republic of Korea  Mr Suh Wook will be on a visit to India from March 25-27, 2021. During the visit, the dignitary will hold bilateral meeting with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in New Delhi to discuss India–RoK defence cooperation along with other regional and international issues of mutual interest. An Indo-Korean Friendship Park will also be jointly inaugurated by the visiting dignitary and Raksha Mantri at Delhi Cantt.
The Minister of National Defence of RoK will also travel to Agra during the visit.
Nampi/Savvy/ADA
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Ministry of Finance
Overwhelming response to Nationwide GST Stakeholder Feedback Diwas
The Central GST and State GST authorities today organized a nationwide GST Stakeholder Feedback Diwas on New GST Returns for getting an on-the-spot response to the new GST Returns in 125 cities across the country where 7500+ trade associations/stakeholders participated in the programme. The new return form is to be made mandatory from 1st April 2020.
CBIC said that the Feedback Diwas programmes are still going on at various places. The preliminary reports received with the CGST authorities are very encouraging. There has been an overwhelming response from GST stakeholders and several useful suggestions have been received. The programme was widely welcomed by GST stakeholders and tax professional/fraternity. It was significant that besides a large number of taxpayers, all prominent chambers of commerce and industry, tax practitioners & compliance managers also participated in the programmes.
CBIC said that the CGST officers explained the new GST Returns and encouraged the participants to themselves upload these Returns  and give feedback in regard to the ease of compliance, uploading, deficiencies and improvements, if any. The focus was on assessing the ease of compliance and uploading of these new returns so that the taxpayers and trader do not face any difficulty when the returns are made mandatory.
CBIC further said that the detailed feedback would be available by Monday, 9th Dec and we will further work on it to facilitate ease of compliance and convenience to taxpayers. CBIC said that programme is hailed as a step in the right direction for greater transparency in tax administration.
It may be noted that the Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman had directed the CGST and SGST authorities to organize a nationwide interaction with stakeholders on 7th Dec 2019 in order to get a first-hand feedback on the new GST Returns that are proposed to be rolled out from 01.04.2020. This was a follow up of the Finance Minister’s meeting held on 16.11.2019 with select taxpayers, Chartered Accountants and Tax practitioners on the same subject.
Further, during the 1st National Conference on GST held on 25.11.2019, Revenue Secretary had also urged the States GST authorities to hold similar stakeholder consultations in their .
AYUSH
CCRAS Signs MoU with JNU and ILBS for Cooperation in the Field of Research & Development and Training in Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine
Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences  under Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India has entered a Memorandum of Understanding  with JawaharLal Nehru University  and Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences  for cooperation in the field of Research & Development and Training in Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine in the presence of Minister of State  for AYUSH and Defence, Shri Sripad Naik at New Delhi on 20th November, 2019.
Speaking on this occasion the Minister stressed upon the need for Translational Research in Ayurveda through interdisciplinary approaches for global acceptance and understanding of Indian Knowledge System of Medicine such as Ayurveda and appreciated the efforts of CCRAS, JNU and ILBS for their noble initiatives that may open new horizons in this field. Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Vice Chancellor, JNU Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar and Dr. Vijay Kumar, Dean , ILBS were also present on this occasion.
This Research Collaboration with these State of Art Institutions would be able to generate tangible evidences on fundamental principles of Ayurveda through multiomics studies and also safety, efficacy of Ayurveda Interventions for emerging health challenges such as non alcoholic fatty liver disease .
Ministry of Finance
Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attends 1st BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 1st BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors  meeting under the BRICS Russian Chairmanship today. The agenda of the meeting included discussions on the outcomes of G20 Saudi Presidency in 2020, a digital platform to encourage infrastructure investments and expansion of the membership of the New Development Bank.
The Finance Minister observed that the G20, of which all BRICS countries are members, has delivered some very significant initiatives this year including the G20 Action Plan in response to COVID-19 which has provided broad guidance to navigate a collective global response to the crisis. Additionally, the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative ensured immediate support to address the liquidity needs of low-income countries. She further noted that BRICS members have played an important role in ensuring that concerns of emerging economies are appropriately reflected in these initiatives.
On the ongoing international efforts to find a solution to the issue of taxation of digital economy, Smt. Sitharaman said that a consensus solution will play an important role in ensuring fairness, equity and sustainability of tax systems.
The BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors also discussed expansion of the membership of the New Development Bank . The Finance Minister supported the expansion of the membership of NDB and emphasised the importance of regional balance. Smt. Sitharaman also shared her perspective on Russia’s initiative to develop an integrated Digital Platform .
Ministry of Defence
SARDAR KM PANIKKAR ‘NIB’ ESSAY COMPETITION
The Indian Navy has introduced the Sardar KM Panikkar ‘NIB’  essay competition with the aim of promoting reading, writing, critical thinking and systematic analysis within its community. The high level of professionalism officers of the Indian armed need to maintain, can only be achieved through continued and sustained education as well as training. This is augmented with literary pursuits that enable form informed opinions on aspects such as national security, international relations, defence strategy, organisational behaviour and management of combat forces.
The award has been constituted in the memory of Sardar KM Panikkar, a maritime strategic thinker who advocated maritime awakening in India, wrote strongly in favour of enhancing maritime consciousness in the nation, and relentlessly highlighted the significance of maritime power and naval policy to India’s growth and prosperity, the competition will be an important element of the Navy’s annual calendar.
All officers below the rank of Captain  are eligible to participate in it. A unique badge has been introduced for the winner, who will be permitted to wear it on his or her uniform for a period of one year. The badge will be formally presented to the winner of the competition by the Chief of the Naval Staff.
VM/JSN 92/23
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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 106.85 Cr
More than 52.39 Lakh doses administered in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently at 98.21%
10,423 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours
India's Active Caseload is lowest in 250 days
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 2% for last 39 days
With the administration of 52,39,444 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 106.85 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 1,07,33,024sessions.
The break-up of the cumulative figureas per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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HCWs
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1st Dose
|
|
1,03,79,238
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2nd Dose
|
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92,33,414
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FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,83,71,868
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|
2nd Dose
|
|
1,59,56,217
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Age Group 18-44 years
|
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1st Dose
|
|
42,04,89,326
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2nd Dose
|
|
14,45,67,423
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
17,53,42,269
|
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2nd Dose
|
|
9,71,44,220
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|
Over 60 years
|
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1st Dose
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|
11,00,17,665
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2nd Dose
|
|
6,70,70,239
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|
Total
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1,06,85,71,879
The recovery of 15,021patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients  to 3,36,83,581.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.21%.
Sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs continue the trend of less than 50,000 Daily New Cases that is being reported for 128 consecutive days now.
10,423 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The Active Caseload is presently at 1,53,776 is lowest in 250 days.Active cases presently constitute 0.45% of the country's total Positive Cases, which is lowest since March 2020.
The testing capacity across the country continues to be expanded. The last 24 hours saw a total of
10,09,045tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 61.02 Cr  cumulative tests.
While testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, Weekly Positivity Rate at 1.16% remains less than 2% for the last 39 days now. The Daily Positivity rate reported to be1.03%. The daily Positivity rate has remained below2% for last 29 days and below 3% for 64 consecutive days now.